I’m blaming it on Southwest Airlines

By: Chris | April 29th, 2007

For 10 teams, there’s more fútbol to play. For six others, it’s wait until August.

And for Querétaro, it’s goodbye to the Primera División and a quick return to the Primera “A”.

The last team to be promoted was sent packing on Sunday afternoon, after falling to Atlas 2-0 in Guadalajara thanks to Nicolás Olivera’s two early goals.

Random thoughts: A few things stuck out for me. It was great seeing over 20,000 Querétaro fans cheering and never giving up. And seeing Atlas coach Rubén Omar Romano consoling Querétaro coach Salvador Reyes, who was in tears after the match. Also, Galavision’s commentary was a little too brusque for my taste. Instead of saying “This portion of the match presented to you by Southwest Airlines,” the commentator said “Southwest Airlines is already printing Querétaro’s tickets to the Primera ‘A’.” Granted, it came late in the first half, but still. Ouch.

Up in Torreón, Santos beat Cruz Azul 2-0 in a match that ended up meaning something. Although Santos’ spot in the top flight was assured with Querétaro’s loss, Santos did manage to qualify for the play-in round which will take place this week.

Santos will meet San Luis on Thursday and Sunday, while Atlas will play Morelia on Wednesday and Saturday, with the two winners moving on to the final 8.

The other seeds fall this way:

1. Pachuca
2. Chivas
3. América
4. Cruz Azul
5. Tecos
6. Atlas*
7. San Luis*
8. Tigres
9. Santos*
10. Morelia*

The only matchup confirmed for the quarterfinals is Cruz Azul-Tecos, with that and the others taking place in two weeks’ time.

Also, Javier Cámpora failed to score in Jaguares’ 1-0 victory over Chivas on Saturday, handing the goal-scoring title to Chivas’ Omar Bravo. Bravo became the first Mexican in six years and 11 tournaments to walk away with the title.